What Changed After the Initial Review

The first review of the acoustic logs from the Le Siege archives raised more questions than answers. We had expected to find a consistent pattern in how the pine beams shaped the resonance of string instruments. Instead, the data showed a surprising variation depending on the age of the wood and the specific orientation of the beams within the hall.

After the initial review, we decided to re-examine three key recordings from the 1347 campaign in the fortress of Château de la Loire. The first recording, made in the main hall, showed a strong mid-range emphasis. The second, from a smaller side chamber, had a noticeably warmer tone. The third, taken in the tower, was almost entirely dominated by low frequencies.

What changed after the initial review was our understanding of the relationship between the wood and the space. We had assumed the wood was the primary variable. But the data suggested that the geometry of the room—the distance between the beams, the height of the ceiling, the presence of stone walls—was equally important. The wood was not the only instrument; the room itself was part of the ensemble.

This shift in perspective led us to revisit the original field notes from the Le Siege school. The notes described how musicians would adjust their playing based on the hall they were in. In a small, wood-paneled room, they would play with a lighter touch. In a larger stone hall, they would dig into the strings to project the sound. The initial review had missed this adaptive behavior because we were looking at the wood in isolation.

The follow-up insight is that the acoustic design of these medieval auditoriums was not a fixed science but a responsive practice. The builders knew that the wood would resonate differently depending on the context, and they planned for it. The result is a more nuanced understanding of how music was experienced in these spaces—not as a static performance, but as a dialogue between the instrument, the wood, and the room.